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'0. C. PEDERSEN & P. G. L. EIOKHOFP'.- Centrifugal Creamer.

No. 240,175. Patented April 12,1881.

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. A I I 1NVENTOR S y y RAPHER, WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENT Fries,

OLE G. PEDERSEN AND FEEDER/1K G. L. EIOKHOFF, OF COPENHAGEN, I

- DENMARK.

CENTRiFUGAL CREAMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,175, dated April 12, 1881.

Application filed April 16, 1880.

Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OLE (J. PEDERSEN and FREDERIK G. L. ErcKHoFF, both of the city of Copenhagen, in the Kingdom of Denmark, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Machines; and we, do hereby declare that the following isafull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to theaccompanyingdrawings,which form a part of this specification.

The nature of our invention has relation to certain improvements in that class of centrifugal machines which are adapted to the separation or disuniting of liquids-such as milk, for example-the component parts of which are of different specific gravity; and it consistsin the construction, and their combination with machines of this class, of discharge pipes which are provided with valves and floats at their lower ends dippinginto the liquid, which said valves are opened or closed, or partially opened or closed, by the floats attached to them, which said floats are so constructed and arranged in respect of their own specific gravity and the specific gravities of the component parts of the liquids operated upon that they will permit only liquid of a certain determinate specific gravity to escape through the pipes to which they are respectively attached.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of a machine provided with our improvement; and Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are detail views, representing modifications of the combination of the float-valves with the discharge-pipes.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

We prefer to make the centrifugal receiver A spherical in shape, as shown in the drawings, forming a hollow globe, of copper or other suitable material, which is made with an annular collar, a, upon which is fitted a flanged circular cover, B, provided with suitable devices for fastening. The feed-pipe O is inserted through the center of this cover, and permanently secured therein, having on one side the discharge-pipe D and on the side opposite the discharge pipe E, both of which, in like manner as the central feed-pipe, G, are in- (ModeL) serted through and permanently secured in the'detachable cover 13, so that by removing this cover pipes O D E will be withdrawn with it, leaving the spherical shell Aperfectly clear and empty, which greatly facilitates the operation of cleaning it and rinsing it out when required. A weight, B, is attached to the lower end of the feed-pipe O, for the purpose of counterbalaneing thelong pipe D, and thus insuring perfect equilibrium during the revolutions of the machine.

Pipe D is bent below the collar on and extended to the largest periphery of the hollow sphere, as clearly shown in the drawings, while pipe E opposite has its outlet immediately under the cap, through which it is inserted, near the center of this. The feed-pipe 0 extends down some distance below the mouth of pipe E. The month of pipe E is closed by a valve, F, which is hinged upon that side of said pipe E which is farthest from the center of the sphere, as shown at f. The mouth of pipe D is in like manner provided with a valve, G, which is hinged upon that side of said pipe D which is nearest the center or axis of the sphere, as shown at g.

Each of the valves F G has attached to it one or more floats, H, and these valves, with their floats, may be of various constructions without deviating from the spirit of our invention, inasmuch as they all operate in the same manner, which is as follows: The hollow sphere A is suspended centrally within a suitablyconstructed frame by the upper end of its axial feed-pipe O, which should be provided with a pulley (not shown in the drawings) for rotating it. The bushing or other device by means of which the machine is suspended within its frame must be of such a nature that the sphere will swing perfectly free, so that it may adapt its position within the frame, when in operation, to varying centers of gravitation; When the machine has attained great speed the friction of its inner surface against'thecontents will be found sufficient to impart the motion of the. drum to the liquid contained therein; but, if desired, the drum or sphere may be provided with inside ribs or flanges or radial wings, to carry the liquid around and expedite the process.

After the machine has been set in motion the lighter component parts of the liquid will flow toward the center or underneath the mouth of pipe E, while the heavier liquids will seek the periphery of the sphere under the mouth of pipe D, in accordance with the well-known laws of centrifugal action. Now, so long as the liquid below pipe E is of less specific gravity than the specific gravity of the float F the centrifugal action will drive the float in an outward direction, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus opening the valve and permitting exit of the fluid; but whenever the specific gravity in this part of the spherical ves sel from any cause is increased, or is in excess of that of the float which operates the valve, this will be closed, and the escape of the fluid will be prevented until it shall have resumed its former specific gravity-less than that of the float. The converse is the case with valve G and its float, which closes the dischargepipe D. So long as the specific gravity of the fluid in the outer part of the spherical vessel, near its circumference, is of a specific gravity greater than or in excess of that of the float the valve (being hinged upon the side nearest the axis of the sphere and opening inwardly) will open and permit the unobstructed escape of the fluid but the moment the specific gravity of this is from any cause reduced the specific gravity of the float will overcome that of the fluid, and the valve will be closed by the centrifugal action upon the float attached to it.

It is obvious that the construction of these float-valves issusceptible of many modifications, some of which will readily suggest themselves, aud also that by some of these modifications, or by a combination, with one or more valves, of floats of difierent specific gravity, the valves may be regulated or adjusted with great nicety and precision, so as to permit only the escape of liquid or fluid of a certain fixed or determined specific gravity. The modifit ons shown in Figs. 4. and 5 are constructed w .h reference to this feature, that represented in the first named of said figures consisting of a curved or segmental shield, h, secured upon and between the pivoted rods 45, carrying the float H. The shield It has a slot or opening, 70, in its middle, equidistant from both its sides, which, when the float is in its vertical position, as represented in the drawings, registers with the narrowed mouth I of the dischargepipe. It follows that unless the fluid surrounding the mouth of the pipe is of precisely the same specific gravity as the float, which will keep this in its vertical position, the valve will be closed, because, if the specific gravity of the fluid is reduced, the float will swing to the left, (outwardly,) whileif it is increased it will swing to the right or inwardly, thus in both cases closing the mouth Z of the dischargepipe. Thus, by using floats of different specific gravity, or by adjusting the specific gravshot or mercury) to that which it is desired that the fluid drawn off through the pipe shall have, it will readily be seen that during the operation of the machine only fluids of the requisite exact grade or standard are discharged from the rotating containing-vessel.

In some cases it may be desirable or expedient to limit the specific gravity of the fluid discharged from the centrifuge, or rather from its respective discharge-pipes, between certain points or grades. For example, let us call the specific gravity of the fluid discharged through the valve represented in Fig. 4 100. Now, in some cases it may sutfice to make the limitation between 95 and 100, and in this case the construction represented in Fig. 4 will not answer the purpose, inasmuch as it will permit only fluid which comes up to the exact standard of 100 to escape. We then use a double or compound float-valve, as represented in Fig.5,although its construction may be varied in detail from that shown in the said figure, in which m represents a puppetvalve closing the inner mouth or outlet of the discharge pipe, upon each side ofwhich, and opposite to each other, are the hinged floats H H, one of which is of the specific gravity of 95 and the other of that of 100. Each ot'thefloatrods n it has a curved arm, 0 0, the free end of which bears against the under side of the vertically-sliding valve m and keeps itclose up against its seat on the mouth of the pipe when the machine is at rest, or when the fluid surrounding the mouth and valve is of a specific gravity less than 95 or more than 100 but when at any point between these two limits (which may be varied or adjusted by varying or adjusting the specific gravity of each of the respective floats H H) the fluid will escape, because the valve will be kept open by the cen trifugal action upon the floats, of which H represents that of 100, and H that of 95, the divergence between the two permitting the valve, which is supported upon their respective arms 0 0, to drop a sufficient distance to open the mouth or inlet to the pipe.

The valves represented in Figs. 2 and 3 are simple modifications of the constructions and arrangements shown at F and G in Fig. 1, and operate in precisely the same manner-that is, the float shown in Fig. 2 will swing outward and open the valve when the fluid into which it is immersed is of the requisite specific gravity, while that shown in Fig. 3 will, under the same circumstances, swing in the opposite direction, and thereby open the inlet to the discharge or delivery pipe to which it, with its float, is appended.

We do not claim, broadly, the process of creaming milk mechanically by centrifugal force or of removing the cream from the skimmed milk mechanically by centrifugal force. Nor do we claim the process of removing both the cream and the skimmed milk from the creaming-vessel mechanically by centrifugal force and expelling the same by the ICC addition of new milk, skimmed milk, or water, as we are aware that these several processes, or processes substantially like them, have been used before.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. The combination, with a centrifugal vessel rotating upon avertical axis, of one or more discharge or delivery pipes which are provided at their inner months or inlets, within said vessel, with floats operating valves which open or close said inlets, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the discharge or delivery pipes of a centrifugal vessel rotating upon a vertical axis, of valves operated by floats the specific gravity of which may be regulated or adjusted in respect of that which it is desired the fluid to be delivered shall have.

3. The method or process of regulating or adjusting the grade or standard of specific gravity of fluids discharged through the dclivery-pipes of a centrifugal vessel rotating upon a vertical axis by means of immersed float-valves appended to the inlets of the delivery-pipes within the centrifugal vessel, the specific gravity of the floats of which operates, in conjunction with the specific gravity of the fluid into which they are immersed and with the centrifugal force engendered by the rotation of the vessel, to open or close automatically the valves to which they are appended, and thus open or close the inlets of their respective delivery-pipes, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

OLE CHRISTIAN PEDERSEN. FREDERIK GOTTFRIED LEONHARDT EICKHOFF.

\Vitnesses FREDERIK WOLFE, J osEPH OSTERMANN. 

